Insider reveals something potentially frustrating about Auston Matthews extension talks
When Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke to the media following the NHL draft a few weeks ago, he was hopeful that the Leafs would have Auston Matthews and William Nylander signed to extensions on or shortly after July 1st. So far, that has not come to fruition and yesterday on the NHL Network, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta provided an update on the current situation and revealed a somewhat surprising bit of information regarding Matthews.
"I would be surprised if Matthews puts pen to paper before Nylander does, at least any time soon... It'll be five-year deal max for Matthews somewhere in the $13M to $14M range, but I would be very surprised if he locks in before Nylander."
Based on what Pagnotta has said, Matthews is content to wait to sign until he knows Nylander has signed and while he likely has his new contract almost complete, there is still a long way to go to bridge the gap between Nylander's ask of $10M-$10.5M and the Leafs' reported offer, somewhere in the range of $8.5M.
As Treliving continues to work on both extensions, Leaf fans and media will continue to run through all of the scenarios about when they will sign, if Nylander will be traded and whether the Leafs are overpaying or got enough term once they do finally sign. Regardless, it's going to be a very long off-season for everyone if neither signs soon. Further delays may also hold the Leafs back from completing other business until they know what the Matthews and Nylander contracts look like.
| POLL | ||
10 JUILLET | 343 ANSWERS Insider reveals something potentially frustrating about Auston Matthews extension talks Who do we see sign their extension first; Auston Matthews or William Nylander? | ||
| Nylander | 43 | 12.5 % |
| Matthews | 248 | 72.3 % |
| They'll be announced together | 52 | 15.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
